Utah Moms for Clean Air

SAN DIEGO, May 18 (UPI) — Inhalation of some particulates can cause some genes to become reprogrammed, affecting the development and outcome of cancers, Italian researchers said. Dr. Andrea Baccarelli of the University of Milan enrolled 63 healthy subjects who worked in a foundry near Milan. Blood DNA samples were collected on the morning of the first day of the work week, and again after three days of work. Comparing these samples revealed that significant changes had occurred in four genes associated with tumor suppression.

“The changes were detectable after only three days of exposure to particulate matter, indicating that environmental factors need little time to cause gene reprogramming which is potentially associated with disease outcomes,” Baccarelli said said in a statement.

“As several of the effects of particulate matter in foundries are similar to those found after exposure to ambient air pollution, our results open new hypotheses about how air pollutants modify human health. The changes in DNA methylation we observed are reversible and some of them are currently being used as targets of cancer drugs.”

The findings were presented at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

March 13, 2009
www.carteretnewstimes.com

Warm weather arrives with the melodic chipping of songbirds preparing their nests. What? Can’t hear them? The steady rumble of lawn mowers not only drowns out nature’s melodies, it disturbs wildlife and sleeping neighbors, and is an unhealthy source of summertime air pollution.

Gasoline-powered lawnmowers will soon have to be dramatically cleaner under new rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The long-awaited regulation requires a 35 percent reduction in emissions from new lawn and garden equipment beginning in 2011. The reductions will be the equivalent of removing one out of every five cars and trucks on the road, according to the National Association of Clean Air Agencies.

The EPA said the new rules will save about 190 million gallons of gasoline each year.

Environmental awareness of gasoline engine pollution has sparked a renewed interest in reel mowers. This, coupled with the growing trend of smaller lots and lawns, greatly reduces the need for large, heavy, gas-guzzling mowers.

The new reel mowers in the marketplace today are not your granddaddy’s heavy, hard-to-push, blunt-edged mowers of time past. They’re state-of-the-art, lightweight and give your grass a gorgeous grooming.

Reel Mowers Are:

Environmentally Effective: Reel mowers don’t add any pollution, noise or emission levels into the atmosphere. And, thankfully, there are no gasoline fumes or smell.

Small Size and Right Weight: Reel mowers don’t have many working parts, so they’re smaller and lighter than electric or gas mowers. They’re actually relatively easy to lift, store and push.

Energy-boosting Exercise: They’re a great form of exercise while you accomplish a much-needed outdoor task. You can burn about 400 calories an hour mowing the lawn with a reel mower.

Economically Attractive: Reel mowers are considerably less expensive than gas, electric or battery-powered mowers. And, again, because you’re not using gasoline, they continue to be budget friendly.

Quality of Cut: Reel mowers tend to deliver a superior cut. The sharp blades make clean cuts much like scissors. Traditional rotary mowers actually tear the tips of your grass off, leaving jagged edges that often turn yellow.

Quell the Noise: Because reel mowers don’t have an engine, they make virtually no noise at all. You can mow the lawn whenever you want to without disturbing your family or neighbors.

If you’re ready to “get reel,” a good mower choice is the German-made modern classic Brill Mower 38-reel-mower. The mower offers several benefits:

* It features five blades, the optimal number for superior cutting and ease of pushing.

* Weighs only 17 pounds, light enough to hang on the garage wall or pick up with one hand.

* Eight-inch diameter wheels make it easy to push over tough terrain.

* The manufacturer offers a two-year warranty.

Keep in mind that manual reel mowers don’t cut tall weeds well, but they do great on grass. Because of the design, the reel will roll over tall weeds without cutting much. So they aren’t a good choice to mow a vacant lot, or overgrown areas of the landscape.

You can also go gas free but add a little power to your push, opting for cordless electric reel mowers. Like the manual reel mower, no gasoline is required, which makes for a much quieter mowing experience without the pollution of the gas mowers.

Brill also makes the Brill Razorcut Accu 38, the newest addition to the Razorcut line of reel mowers. It has a 24 Volt cordless electric motor, can cut up to 2,500 square feet of grass when fully charged, and weighs just 29 pounds.

Reel or electric, your lawn will love it. A good sharp reel mower will leave your lawn in beautiful shape. You can also get bag attachments for many of the models.

For more information on reel and electric mowers as well as environmentally friendly lawn and garden supplies visit www.cleanairgardening.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

ScienceDaily (Apr. 30, 2009) — The 10th annual American Lung Association State of the Air report released April 29 finds that six out of ten Americans–186.1 million people — live in areas where air pollution levels endanger lives.

State of the Air 2009 acknowledges substantial progress against air pollution in many areas of the country, but finds nearly every major city still burdened by air pollution. Despite America’s growing “green” movement, the air in many cities became dirtier. The State of the Air report includes a national air quality “report card” that assigns A-F grades to communities across the country. The report also ranks cities and counties most affected by the three most widespread types of pollution (ozone—or smog, annual particle pollution, and 24-hour particle pollution levels) and details trends for 900 counties over the past decade.

This should be a wake-up call. We know that air pollution is a major threat to human health,” said Stephen J. Nolan, American Lung Association National Board Chair. “When 60 percent of Americans are left breathing air dirty enough to send people to the emergency room, to shape how kids’ lungs develop, and to kill, air pollution remains a serious problem.”

“We need to renew our commitment to providing healthy air for all our citizens—a commitment the United States made almost 40 years ago when Congress passed the Clean Air Act,” Connor said. “After four decades, we still have much work to do. America needs to cut emissions from big polluters like coal-fired power plants and ocean-going vessels. We need to fix old dirty diesel engines to make them cleaner and strengthen the ozone standards to better protect our health. We also need to improve the decaying infrastructure of air monitors. America must now enforce the laws that help us improve our nation’s air quality.”

As America faces the challenges of air pollution, global warming and energy, the American Lung Association urges Congress, the EPA and individuals to choose solutions that help solve all three challenges together. Some steps that sound like good solutions for one problem can make air pollution worse.

Americans can make personal changes to improve air quality immediately and ultimately impact climate change as well: drive less; don’t burn wood or trash; use less electricity; and make sure local school systems require clean school buses.

Cleanest Cities In USA

Cleanest U.S. Cities for Short-term Particle Pollution (24 Hour PM2.5)
*Cities below had equal scores.
Alexandria, La.
Amarillo, Texas
Austin-Round Rock, Texas
Bismarck, N.D.
Brownsville-Harlingen-Raymondville, Texas
Cheyenne, Wyo.
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Corpus Christi-Kingsville, Texas
Fargo-Wahpeton, N.D.-Minn.
Farmington, N.M.
Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.
Grand Junction, Colo.
Longview-Marshall, Texas
Midland-Odessa, Texas
Oklahoma City-Shawnee, Okla.
Portland-Lewiston-South Portland, Maine
Pueblo, Colo.
Redding, Calif.
Salinas, Calif.
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif.
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Calif.
Santa Fe-Espanola, N.M.
Sioux Falls, S.D.
Tucson, Ariz.

10 Cleanest U.S. Cities for Long-term Particle Pollution (Annual PM2.5)
*Cities listed in rank order. Duplicate position numbers indicate ties.
1. Cheyenne, Wyo.
2. Santa Fe-Espanola, N.M.
3. Honolulu, Hawaii
4. Great Falls, Mont.
5. Flagstaff, Ariz.
6. Farmington, N.M.
7. Anchorage, Alaska
8. Tucson, Ariz.
9. Bismarck, N.D.
9. Salinas, Calif.

Cleanest U.S. Cities for Ozone Air Pollution
*Cities below had equal scores.
Billings, Mont.
Carson City, Nev.
Coeur D’Alene, Idaho
Fargo-Wahpeton, N.D.-Minn.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Laredo, Texas
Lincoln, Neb.
Port St. Lucie-Sebastian-Vero Beach, Fla.
Sioux Falls, S.D.

Most Polluted Cities in USA

10 U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Short-term Particle Pollution (24 Hour PM2.5)
*Cities listed in rank order. Duplicate position numbers indicate ties.
1. Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.
2. Fresno-Madera, Calif.
3. Bakersfield, Calif.
4. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
5. Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, Ala.
6. Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield, Utah
7. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, Calif.-Nev.
8. Logan, Utah
9. Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.
9. Detroit-Warren-Flint, Mich.

U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution (Annual PM2.5)
*Cities listed in rank order.
1. Bakersfield, Calif.
2. Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.
3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
4. Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
5. Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, Ala.
6. Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
7. Fresno-Madera, Calif.
8. Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
9. Detroit-Warren-Flint, Mich.
10. Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, Ohio

U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Ozone
*Cities listed in rank order.
1. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
2. Bakersfield, Calif.
3. Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
4. Fresno-Madera, Calif.
5. Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, Texas
6. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, Calif.-Nev.
7. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
8. Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, N.C.-S.C.
9. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.
10. El Centro, Calif.

*This was an abridged version of the article posted on ScienceDaily for the full article see: sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/

The full State of the Air report can be found at www.stateoftheair.org.

By Humphrey Hawksley
BBC News correspondent
April 12, 09
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7946838.stm

It has taken a quarter of a century, but US researchers say their work has finally enabled them to determine to what extent city air pollution impacts on average life expectancy. The project tracked the change of air quality in 51 American cities since the 1980s. During that time general life expectancy increased by more than two and half years, much due to improved lifestyles, diet and healthcare. But the researchers calculated more than 15% of that extra time was due to cleaner air. “We think about five months of that is due to the improvement of air quality,” said Dr Douglas Dockery, head of the Environmental Health Department at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, which undertook the research. He added that, due to the relatively clean air in the US, the impact was far larger than anticipated.

Dr Dockery said there were many factors which had an impact on life expectancy. But he added: “Clean or dirty air is something that is being imposed on you. “You do have a choice on whether you smoke, drink, exercise or what type of food you eat. But you do not have a choice on what air you breathe.” Dr Dockery believes that if his research was transposed onto the heavily polluted cities of the developing world, such as Beijing or Mexico City, the life expectancy impact would be far greater. “We would be talking about several years,” he said. “We looked at fine particles that penetrate deep in the lungs, those that are not caught in the nose and the mouth, and directly damage the blood vessels. Most of those come from combustion, from automobiles, diesel trucks and buses and power plants.”

Dr Dockery hopes his findings will encourage governments to work towards making air even cleaner over the next 25 years. Even in Boston, which has comparatively clean city air, pollution levels change suddenly from being safe to highly dangerous. Bruce Hill, a scientist with the Clean Air Task Force, measured two sets of pollution levels. One was on a bridge over a highway with only cars and the other over a highway with diesel-powered trucks. “Just now that truck passed and the levels spiked up to five times higher than they were in the rest of the city,” said Hill. “Now, see, it’s gone 25 times higher.” From there he went down onto the underground platform of a commuter train station. “This is bad,” he said. “The monitors can’t go any higher, meaning the level here could be a hundred time higher than the cleaner air outside. “Some people commute for five per cent of the day, which is the amount of time they’re being exposed to these particles.”

Hill describes the damage caused by regularly breathing such air as like living with someone who smokes. In the long term, he argued, it can cause cancer and cardio-vascular problems. In the short term, it can create asthma attacks and allergies. Cait Maas, who already has a respiratory problem, lives in an apartment that looks out on a shipping terminal, an oil depot and a multi-lane highway. A main road near her home is a key route for diesel trucks. “On a bad day, I can taste the particles. I feel them constricting my airways and I have to cover my mouth so that I can breathe.”

Over the next generation, however, it’s expected that pollution, especially that created by dangerous diesel particles, will be cut dramatically. Standard filters are now being fitted to buses. Bio-fuels and cleaner energy in general, brought about by climate change pressures, will make the air safer.

We are in the midst of a horrible cold weather inversion right now that is trapping life-threatening pollutants in the valleys, endangering all our health. Yesterday afternoon there were spikes in the readings of nearly 100 micrograms/cubic meter of PM 2.5 in Salt Lake County! (See the image from the DAQ’s website reporting this data.)

To put this data into perspective, the federal standard for PM 2.5 averaged over a 24-hour period is 35 micrograms/cubic meter; yesterday’s spike was nearly 3 times that 24-hour standard. The air is so bad right now that Ogden, Salt Lake, and Provo have by far the worst air quality in the nation as reported by the EPA’s website.

To protect your families, we urge you to limit yourselves to only the most vitally necessary car trips, avoid idling for longer than 10 seconds, get in the habit of carpooling, talk to your employer about telecommuting, and otherwise limit your fuel consumption as much as possible. In addition, avoid strenuous exercise and have the kids play inside while the air is bad. Avoid all sources of indoor pollution like candles, incense, cigarette smoke, etc., and buy a HEPA air filter.

While you’re spending more time indoors and less time exercising and driving, let your elected officials know how you feel about this air inversion. The legislative session is coming up next month and we want to be sure air quality is a top priority.

Find your Utah House Representative here.

Find your Utah Senator here.

Write to Governor Huntsman at his email form here.

Write to Cheryl Heying, the director of the Division of Air Quality at this address: cheying@utah.gov

Write a letter to the editor of your local paper about the air quality issue.

Also, plan to join us Tuesday, January 27 at 6:30 pm at the Anderson-Foothill Library (1135 South 2100 East, Salt Lake City) for a public meeting. Let’s get organized, energized, and prepared to make Utah a better place to breathe!

A sobering special report on toxic air quality around America’s schools was published by USA Today.

In addition to getting more informed on the the issue by reading the articles and watching the videos, you can use USA Today’s online searchable database where you can find the level of toxics in the air at almost 128,000 public, private and parochial schools around the country. In Utah, 1,046 of the schools are ranked; 14 of our schools fall in the worst 5% of schools for air quality (meaning only 5% of the 128,000 schools ranked have worse air quality). Click here for report and to search for your child’s school.

If you have a child in a school with potential problems and want to do more, share the information with principal and other parents and invite them to join Utah Moms for Clean Air. Encourage your school to fully participate in an anti-idling campaign. You can also call the president of your school board or your city/town council to urge them to directly monitor toxic emissions exposure at our schools.

MomsRising, a national advocacy organization, is also sponsoring a petition at the national level to encourage our leaders to do more to make schools safe for children. Find information about the MomsRising nontoxic schools petition.

Preliminary results of a Utah study seem to indicate that infertility could be related to air pollution.

Ahmad Hammoud, a fellow at the University of Utah’s division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility, recently analyzed Salt Lake City air quality data and linked it to sperm quality data collected at the U.’s infertility clinic.

His preliminary results showed that as fine-particle pollution increased - the peaks are in December, January and February - the ability of sperm to wriggle and swim slightly dropped a month or two later. The delay is because it takes sperm between two to three months to mature.

Air pollution is just one potential factor in infertility, and more study is needed. Hammoud plans more research on effects of fine particle pollution, carbon monoxide, and ozone on sperm.

Read more:

• Heather May, “Are poor sperm quality and air pollution linked? Preliminary research by a Utah infertility doctor seems to suggest they might be,” Salt Lake Tribune, September 25, 2008.

FILM SCREENING: DON’T MISS THIS IMPORTANT AND TIMELY FILM

When: Tuesday, September 9th at 7:00 PM
Venue: Tower Theater, 876 East 900 South
Admission price/free: FREE!

Screenings are also taking place in St. George and Richfield. Call 801-467-9294 for more information.

SALT LAKE CITY -
By MIKE STARK 09.04.08, 4:16 PM ET

Robert Redford was so struck by a story of Texas mayors, ranchers and other citizens who stood up against plans for a batch of new coal-fired power plants that he narrated a film about it.

The actor and founder of the Sundance Film Festival is lending his voice to a 34-minute documentary called “Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars.” The film is being shown in seven cities in Utah and Nevada next week.

Redford ’s hoping the story inspires others to face off against the “mythology” of nonrenewable resources and consider renewable energy alternatives.

“It makes no sense going in a direction that represents yesterday,” Redford said in an interview with The Associated Press this week.

The story centers on a fight that started in 2006 over 19 proposed coal-fired power plants in central and east Texas . The plans galvanized a diverse group of citizens who might otherwise have divergent political viewpoints: ranchers, environmentalists, business leaders, legislators, lawyers and more than a dozen local mayors.

(more…)